The palace lanterns swayed gently in the night wind, stretching Princess Xiang Yun’s shadow long and slender.
According to the ancestral laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, after a Crown Prince passed away, his concubines were required to live in seclusion in White Jade City for the rest of their lives.
Were it not for this, the Desert Princess would have much preferred to stay by Xia Wuyang’s side to the very end. She would have waited until the earth covered his coffin before returning to the Great Desert, guided by the sound of camel bells.
On top of that, a constant stream of urgent letters was arriving from the Western Regions. After thinking it over and over, Princess Xiang Yun realized she could not bear to witness Xia Wuyang’s death with her own eyes.
After much hesitation, she finally decided to request a divorce. She deliberately chose the dead of night to avoid being discovered.
Xia Wuyang gazed at Princess Xiang Yun, who stood before him with her head bowed in silence. She reminded him of a character, Princess Xiangxiang, from a TV drama in his previous life. Both possessed a natural, sweet fragrance, both hailed from the Great Desert, and both were deeply devoted.
Even after Xia Wuyang became a shadow of his former self, often scolding them and doing many things to break their hearts, she had remained by his side, never abandoning him.
The reason Xia Wuyang had saved Princess Xiang Yun back then was partly because he saw her resemblance to Princess Xiangxiang from his past life, and partly because he was curious and wanted a new experience. That was why he had intervened.
He never expected that act to trap Princess Xiang Yun by his side for decades. If it weren’t for the turmoil in the Western Desert and the fact that he was now old and frail, seemingly on the verge of collapse, he suspected Princess Xiang Yun would never have left.
After a moment’s hesitation, Xia Wuyang asked, "Is the current crisis in Huiwan Country related to me?"
Back then, the reason Princess Xiang Yun had fallen for him was because he had led the elite forces of Great Xia to crush Huiwan Country’s enemies, allowing the nation to survive.
But now that Xia Wuyang had lost his influence and was on the brink of death from old age, Huiwan Country’s enemies were undoubtedly stirring.
"Not at all. This has nothing to do with Your Highness," Princess Xiang Yun denied instantly, without a hint of hesitation. "The chaos in the Western Regions was inevitable, and Huiwan Country was simply caught in the crossfire. It is unrelated to you."
However, using the Soul Capturing Technique, Xia Wuyang could probe Princess Xiang Yun’s surface thoughts. He learned that while the situation hadn’t been caused by him directly, if he were still the true Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, wielding immense power, Huiwan Country would never be facing this crisis.
It was precisely because Huiwan Country’s enemies saw that its patron, the Crown Prince of the Great Xia, was on his deathbed that they dared to move against it. This forced Princess Xiang Yun to leave the Eastern Palace in a hurry and return to her home country.
Remembering his promise to protect Huiwan Country so that Princess Xiang Yun would have nothing to fear, Xia Wuyang felt a pang of shame.
Although it was not his duty, he had made that vow, and Princess Xiang Yun, moved by his words, had given herself to him.
Decades later, with Huiwan Country in crisis, Princess Xiang Yun didn’t even dare to tell him the truth, all so he could continue his life of feasting and revelry in peace.
A bitter feeling welled up in Xia Wuyang. He had wanted to keep up his Disguise to prevent Princess Xiang Yun from growing suspicious, but after sensing her thoughts, he no longer had the heart for it.
Taking out a brush and paper, Xia Wuyang began to write the Divorce Certificate. He glanced over at Princess Xiang Yun and noticed that she had deliberately styled her hair in the same topknot she wore when they first met. Even her perfume was the same—the scent of desert oleaster blossoms, unique to the sands where he had found her.
The same delicate fingers that once played the *huqin* for him were now digging into her palms so fiercely that they drew blood.
She seemed stunned. She apparently hadn’t expected the elder Crown Prince, a man so befuddled he’d become the laughingstock of the Imperial Palace, to write the Divorce Certificate so decisively and without making a single demand.
At that moment, a thought seemed to strike her. She took out a gourd of fine wine and placed it gently beside Xia Wuyang. "Your Highness, this is Five Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine, infused with Celestial Snow Lotus and rare Exotic Flowers and Herbs from the Western Regions. It not only restores the body but can also prolong one’s life. Please, accept it, Your Highness."
She had gone to incredible lengths to obtain the Monkey Wine, exhausting nearly everything she had accumulated over the years and even deceiving her own Father Emperor and Mother Empress.
She had wanted to bring it to him long ago, but to enhance its life-prolonging effects, the infusion process was only just completed today.
Xia Wuyang already felt he had wronged Princess Xiang Yun; how could he possibly accept the Monkey Wine? This was true even though it was a Miracle Treasure on par with, or perhaps even superior to, the Celestial Water Essence.
With its life-extending effects, it was by no means inferior to many High Level Miracle Treasures.
’With this gourd of Monkey Wine, it would only take about a month to break through my shackles and ascend to the Upper Three Grades.’
"You are thoughtful, my dear." Xia Wuyang did not take the Monkey Wine. Instead, he produced a vial of a precious Elixir unique to the Royal Family and placed it in Princess Xiang Yun’s hands. "Years ago, your Cultivation went awry. The resulting injury to your body has stalled your progress ever since."
"I should have found a way to procure a healing elixir from the Inner Treasury for you long ago, but I have delayed for far too long. Take it on your journey home as soon as you can. After breaking down your old limits, you will rebuild anew. You might even have a chance to ascend to the Upper Three Grades."
This was a top-tier Elixir that Xia Wuyang had taken from Princess Ling Yi’s Secret Vault. He had no idea where she had "borrowed" it from, but it was exceptionally rare, even among the other Princes and Princesses.
To put it bluntly, many a Prince and Princess might go their entire life without ever obtaining a vial like this. And it happened to be the perfect remedy for Princess Xiang Yun’s latent injury.
He had been planning to find the right time to give it to Princess Xiang Yun. Thankfully, he wasn’t too late.
’I’m not worried about being exposed as the thief. It’s not like Princess Ling Yi is the only one with this kind of healing elixir. Even if I’m old and frail, it’s plausible that I’d have a few hidden treasures saved up.’
"Your Highness!"
Princess Xiang Yun could hold back no longer. Sobbing, she threw herself into Xia Wuyang’s embrace. The golden sparrow hairpin in her hair caught on his collar and tore the fabric, just as it had decades ago amid the swirling yellow sands of the Great Desert, when she had thrown herself into his arms and torn his collar in the very same way.
There, amidst the sand-swept sky, the two of them had made a vow to be together for three lifetimes.
After a long moment, Princess Xiang Yun finally left Wenhua Hall, but she left the Five Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine behind, stubbornly refusing to take it with her.
Soon, she would slip away from the Eastern Palace and return to the Western Desert, the land of her birth, to help her parents, her siblings, and all of Huiwan Country.
She hoped Xia Wuyang would use this time to drink the Monkey Wine quickly. That way, by the time anyone found out about it, they wouldn’t be able to take it from him.
She had come to Xia Wuyang in secret to ask for the Divorce Certificate for two reasons: to save him from public disgrace, and to sneak him the Five Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine. She wanted him to drink it as soon as possible, lest others find out and steal it.
Although it was an extravagant waste to use such a Miracle Treasure simply to nourish the body, in Princess Xiang Yun’s eyes, it was worth it if it could help Xia Wuyang live even a little while longer.
Back then, Xia Wuyang had saved her and Huiwan Country. Now, she wanted to save him, too, even if it only meant slightly extending his life.
’Such grace, such deep affection... How could he ever let a woman like that go?’
’In the future, when I have my power back and my strength is sufficient, that will be the time to bring Princess Xiang Yun home.’
Xia Wuyang pushed the thoughts aside and continued to drink and revel—or rather, to train diligently. To the outside world, however, he was still lost in a haze of debauchery, oblivious to his surroundings.